Sprinkler head closure

ABSTRACT

Apparatus and method for shutting off water flow through the nozzle outlet of a ceiling sprinkler lead, particularly of the flush type, in which lateral access to the space between the outlet and a spreader disposed therebelow is obstructed and the only access to such space is across a circular cross section disposed between the outlet and spreader, characterized by a gooseneck member having a nozzle closure affixed to the upper end thereof, its lower end being affixed to a handle adapted to be removably attached to a pole, the gooseneck being so shaped to permit the closure and gooseneck to be inserted across said space without interference with the sprinkler head, an intermediate portion of the gooseneck adapted to clear the periphery of the spreader when the nozzle closure is disposed in axial alignment with the nozzle outlet. The spreader may be supported by the head by a rigid yoke or flexibly supported by chains or the like but regardless of its manner of support an abutment is provided for preventing the closure from moving away from sealing engagement with the nozzle.

United States Patent 1191 Straley et al.

[ SPRINKLER HEAD CLOSURE I [75] Inventors; Robert J. Straley; Victor C. Muller,

both of Monrovia, Calif.

[73] Assignee: Fire Sprinkler Control Company,

Monrovia, Calif.

22 Filed: July 27,1972

21 App]. No.: 275,809

Primary ExaminerLloyd L. King Attorney, Agent, or FirmVictor C. Muller Sept. 24, 1974 [5 7 ABSTRACT Apparatus and method for shutting off water flow through the nozzle outlet of a ceiling sprinkler lead, particularly of the flush type, in which lateral access to the space between the outlet and a spreader disposed therebelow is obstructed and the only access to such space is across a circular cross section disposed between the outlet and spreader, characterized by, a gooseneck member having a nozzle closure affixed to the upper end thereof, its lower end being affixed to a handle adapted to be removably attached to a pole, the gooseneck being so shaped to permit the closure and gooseneck to be inserted across said space without interference with the sprinkler head, an intermedi ate portion of the gooseneck adapted to clear the periphery of the spreader when the nozzle closure is disposed in axial alignment with the nozzle outlet.

8 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The desirablility of shutting off an individual or several sprinkler heads in buildings equipped with automatic sprinkler systems to minimize water damagehas long been recognized, as exemplified by the US. Pat. to Wright, No. 478,181. During the circa (about 1900) it was conventional practice to dispose the sprinkler head supply pipes belowthe building ceiling with head oriented to discharge'water downwardly or upwardly, the latter being exemplified by the U.'S. Pat. to'Short, No. 858,832. Since the space between the nozzle exit and the spreader supporting yoke was accessible from a direction laterally of the yoke it was conventional practice to apply a'shutoff device from such direction. Open supplypipes and heads ofthe type referred to are still extensively used and various shutoff devices are still manufactured for use therewith.

In modern buildings, such as factories, department stores, office buildings, etc., the floors are usually made of reinforced concrete, and, where appearance of the sprinkler system is of'importance, the supply pipes are 5 often disposedv within the concrete ceilings. Also, the major portion of each sprinkler head isrecessed within the ceiling, such construction being often referred toas I flush type. US. Pat. No. 2,555,461 to Auguste is'exemplary of the flush type. Since the nozzle exit is recessed within the head. it becomes apparent that shutoff devices, such as those disclosed by Wright, cannot be employed since a part of the sprinkler head obstructs entry of a shutoff device from a lateral direction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has particular utility with the flush type head but may also be usedwith open heads, such asthose exemplified byWright and Short. Its principle feature is characterized by a goo'sen'eckv member to one end of which a nozzle sealing plug is affixed, the other end being affixed to a tubular handle which may be releasably. attached to apole. The gooseneck is so shaped that it clears a trim cup and the yoke during insertion at a slight angle from the axial direction of the nozzle and, when swung to the-axial'direction, it extends around the outer edge of the spreader. Preferably, water pressure. is employed toeffect aseal within the nozzle by an O-ring, however, aseal against the end of the nozzle, as conventional'in the art, may be employed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE'DR-AWING FIG. PA is aside elevation, portions being broken away, of an exemplary form of prior'art'sprinkler head with which the present inventionmaybe employed;

FIG. 1 is a central vertical section through FIG. PA illustrating the subject of the invention as employed therewith. i

FIG. 1A is a-section, like FIG. 1', just priortotheposition of parts in FIG. 1;

FIG. 2 is asection taken of line;2.-2;. FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged .section-takenon.linel 3+3 FIG. 1, a central portionbeing vbroken'away; and

FIG. 3A isa like section of analternativeform of closure.

' ceives fitting DESCRIPTION OF PREF ERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawing, and first to FIG. PA, a conventional prior art sprinkler head 10 comprises a member 12 having a pipe fitting end 14 and a yoke 16, the lower end of which supports a circular spreader 18, the pipe fitting end having an aperture 20there'through for delivering water for impingement on the top of the spreader after the fuze (n'ot'show'n) has blown from the device as a result of a fire, accident or defective fuze. The construction so far described, if employed-alone, would be an open sprinkler head, previously referred to, and similar to those disclosed by the Wright and Short patents.

The open head, just described, is converted to a flush head by a cup shaped member 22 which reshoulders 24 (FIG. 1) and a sheet metal nut -26 which engages the threads on the fitting. The outer surface of member 22 is provided with parallel spacedridges 28 along which cup shaped member 30 may be slid to desired position providing a closure for the ceiling aperture in which the head is disposed. As shown, member 30 is at approximately its lowermost position of adjustment and may be moved upwardly so that its upper edge may engage any of the other ridges 28. so that the upper face of flange 32 will lie flush with ceiling 34. The construction so far described is exemplified by that manufactured by the STAR SPRINKLER C0. of

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA. As will be apparent, members 22 and 30' surround substantially all of yoke 16 and preclude lateral access to the space enclosed therein.

Referring now to FIGS. '1 to 3, the subject of the invention comprises a plug or closure 36, a gooseneck stem 38 rigidly secured to the plug,such as by welds14'0, a tube 42 to which the lower end of stem-38-iswelded, and a pole 44 which telescopes within the tube, each of which will now be described in detail.

Plug 36, as best shown in FIG. 3, comprises a generally conical pilot 46, a circular groove 48,. which receives anO-ring 50, its lower endbeing provided with a conical recess 52 which seats on the upper conical end 54 of a screw 56 affixed to spreader 1 8 Gooseneck stem 38 comprises a straight upper portion 58; aportion 60 displaced laterally thereof to clear spreader 18, and a horizontal portion 62 which extends through diametrically opposed apertures 64 in tube'42 at which points it is welded. Tube 42 may be of anydesired cross section and, as illustrated; is circular. Pole 44 (FIG. 2) is provided with a slot 66 which receives stem portion 62 and locks the pole thereto againstrelative rotation but permits the pole to'be removed from tube 42 after plug36 has been captured'in sealing relation to nozzle aperture 20, thus .permittinga single pole to be employed for inserting other plugs into other sprinkler heads.

In the use of .the device after the fusiblelink (not 1 shown) has blown from its position within the yoke,

tube 42is disposed on the end of pole/44 and'elevated to the sprinkler. head and plug member36isinserted through cross section .8 at either side of the yoke. Pilot 46 aids in locating the end of the nozzle as shown in FIG. 1A which partially shuts off the flow and water pressurewill now be sensed by the operator. Upward" force on the pole is-then increased, this forcebeing the area of the nozzle openingv times the unit pressure of 12, the parts being secured together by I the water. Movement of pilot 46 into the nozzle is continued until the lower end of member 36 is slightly above screw 54 after which the pole is swung to a vertical position. By releasing upward pressure on the pole, water pressure forces member 36 into seating relation on screw 56, locking it in place. As will be apparent, the pole may now be removed from the device for use with another like device, if such use is necessary. If, for any reason, it is desired to remove the device from the sprinkler head before it is replaced, this may be effected by re-applying the pole, pushing upwardly, thereon, thence swinging same laterally, and thence lowering same which releases the device and permits it to be lowered.

As is well known, O-rings are normally installed under unpressurized conditions. Also, they are normally provided with axial groove clearance so that, when pressurized, the pressure radially expands the ring and also forces it against the downstream face of the O-ring groove. The ring then distorts from a circular cross section, approaching a square cross section under extreme pressure. In the early experiments, following such concepts of O-ring design it was found that they were not applicable to installation of an O-ring under pressurized conditions. These experiments revealed that when the O-ring was in the position shown in FIG. 1A one side of the O-ring was retained against outward radial movement in the O-ring groove but the diametrical opposite side, not having entered the nozzle due to the angular entry, was not so retained and water pressure on the inside of the O-ring expanded it so that it either would not enter the nozzle, or, if forced entry was attempted, the O-ring would be damaged during the final entry, producing either a cutting or pitting of the O-ring which destroyed its seal. Recognizing that this O-ring blow-out was a result of the abnormal installation of an O-ring under pressure, rather than the normal installation under unpressurized conditions, two experiments were conducted. In the first, the downstream side of the O-ring was cemented to the downstream face of the rectangular O-ring groove. This prevented it from blowing out of the groove but still permitted water pressure to expand and distort it into sealing engagement with the nozzle bore. While this technique is satisfactory, from an overall operational point of view, it was found objectionable since it not only required specialized cements to produce a bond between rubber and metal but also required application of the cement bond to only a desired area of the O-ring so that it still had some freedom to distort into sealing relationship with the nozzle bore.

To obviate the use of cement to prevent blow-out experiments were conducted with a mechanical lock of the O-ring to member 36. As shown in FIG. 3, the downstream face of the groove is undercut to form a dovetail to prevent radial expansion and blow-out of the O-ring. As will be understood, the axial width of the groove at the outer or O-ring entry portion is less than the cross sectional diameter of the O-ring so that it is axially compressed as it enters the dovetail groove, after which it substantially resumes its original circular cross section but with sufficient axial compression to substantially seal against the upstream face of the O- ring groove during the time required to insert the O- pand it if the O-ring were provided with conventional 6 ring. Experiments have revealed that the leakage rate 5 around the upstream face of the O-ring may be controlled which is evidenced by the fact that after a numend clearance and on the other hand permits desirable expansion or distortion after the O-ring is in place to thus improve its sealing characteristics. The tight fit of the O-ring thus, in effect, constitutes a valve to prevent rapid entry of water into the O-ring during the time required to insert it but also provides a slow leakage path to permit such entry of water after it has been inserted.

FIG. 3A illustrates a prototype plug 36A having a camming ramp 68 which wedges along screw 56, one end having a flat washer 50a carried thereby adjacent pilot 46a. As will be apparent this is secured to a gooseneck.

We claim:

1. In a sprinkler head of the flush type having a circular bore forming a water outlet supported to discharge water downwardly from adjacent the ceiling of a build ing, said head having a depending water spreader support and a water spreader carried thereby disposed below the water outlet, said spreader support also providing an abutment disposed in predetermined spaced relation beneath the water outlet and in axial alignment with the axis of the bore, the space between said water outlet and abutment having a surrounding obstruction preventing lateral access thereto, the only access thereto being across a horizontal section at the bottom of said space, the improvements for use therewith, comprising;

a. a water outlet closure having upper and lower ends,

b. the upper end of the closure having an upwardly and inwardly tapered pilot so constructed to permit it to enter said outlet at an acute angle to said axis and provide a pivot about which the closure may be swung,

c. the lower end of the closure being so constructed to seat on said abutment after the pilot has entered said opening a sufficient distance to permit the lower end of the closure to swing about said pivot to a position wherein the lower end is on said axis and may seat on said abutment,

d. means disposed adjacent the lower end of said pilot engageable with said outlet for sealing flow of water therethrough when said closure is swung to the last named position,

e. a stem affixed to said closure having a portion laterally offset from the closure and extending across said horizontal section so constructed to clear the periphery of the spreader when the closure is disposed in said last named position, the stem also being so constructed to clear the lower end of the obstruction when the closure and stem are inserted across said horizontal section, at an angle thereto, and into said space, and

f. means, such as a handle secured to the stem for pushing the pilot into the water outlet bore and for swinging the closure to dispose its lower end onto the abutment.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 including said sprindler head in combination with said closure.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said pilot is provided witn an O-ring groove adjacent its lower and largest portion, an O-ring disposed within the groove engagable with the bore of the water outlet, and means for preventing the O-ring from blowing out of the O-ring groove during insertion of the O-ring into said bore.

4. Apparatus in accordance with claim 3 wherein the O-ring groove is undercut, at least at the downstream face thereof, to provide a dovetail for preventing outward movement of the O-ring, the O-ring being axially squeezed between the upstream and downstream faces of the O-ring groove, to limit rate of entry of leakage water around the upstream face of the O-ring and to the interior thereof to thus obviate O-ring expansion at least until the O-ring is seated within the bore of the water outlet.

5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 including a pole removably engagable with said means secured to the stem, and means for preventing relative rotation therebetween.

6. In a sprinkler head of the type having a circular bore forming a water outlet for discharging water onto a water spreader carried by a water spreader support, the water spreader being disposed in spaced relation to the water outlet, the spreader support also providing an abutment disposed in predetermined spaced relation from the water outlet and in axial alignment with the axis of the bore, the space surrounding the spreader support having a cross-section at an end thereof provid ing access to said space, theimprovements for use therewith, comprising:

a. a water outlet closure having opposite ends,

b. one end of the closure having a tapered pilot so constructed to permit a tip thereof to enter said outlet at an acute angle to said axis and provide a pivot about which the closure may be swung,

c. the other end of the closure being so constructed to seat on said abutment after the pilot has entered said opening a sufficient distance to permit said other end of the closure to swing about said pivot to a position wherein said other end is on said axis and may seat on said abutment,

d. means disposed adjacent an inner portion of the pilot engagable with said outlet for sealing flow of water therethrough when said closure is swung to the last named position,

e. a stem affixed to said closure having a portion laterally offset from the closure and extending across said horizontal section so constructed to clear the periphery of the spreader when the closure is disposed in said last named position, and

f. means, such as a handle, secured to the stem for pushing the pilot into the outlet bore and for swinging the closure to dispose said other end thereof on the abutment. l

7. Apparatus in accordance .with claim 6 wherein said stem is also so constructed to clear the lower end of an obstruction surrounding said space when the closure and stem are inserted across said cross-section at an angle thereto and into said space.

8. Apparatus inaccordance with claim 7 in combination with a sprinkler head of the flush type having said obstruction. 

1. In a sprinkler head of the flush type having a circular bore forming a water outlet supported to discharge water downwardly from adjacent the ceiling of a building, said head having a depending water spreader support and a water spreader carried thereby disposed below the water outlet, said spreader support also providing an abutment disposed in predetermined spaced relation beneath the water outlet and in axial alignment with the axis of the bore, the space between said water outlet and abutment having a surrounding obstruction preventing lateral access thereto, the only access thereto being across a horizontal section at the bottom of said space, the improvements for use therewith, comprising; a. a water outlet closure having upper and lower ends, b. the upper end of the closure having an upwardly and inwardly tapered pilot so constructed to permit it to enter said outlet at an acute angle to said axis and provide a pivot about which the closure may be swung, c. the lower end of the closure being so constructed to seat on said abutment after the pilot has entered said opening a sufficient distance to permit the lower end of the closure to swing about said pivot to a position wherein the lower end is on said axis and may seat on said abutment, d. means disposed adjacent the lower end of said pilot engageable with said outlet for sealing flow of water therethrough when said closure is swung to the last named position, e. a stem affixed to said closure having a portion laterally offset from the closure and extending across said horizontal section so constructed to clear the periphery of the spreader when the closure is disposed in said last named position, the stem also being so constructed to clear the lower end of the obstruction when the closure and stem are inserted across said horizontal section, at an angle thereto, and into said space, and f. means, such as a handle secured to the stem for pushing the pilot into the water outlet bore and for swinging the closure to dispose its lower end onto the abutment.
 2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 including said sprindler head in combination with said closure.
 3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said pilot is provided witn an O-ring groove adjacent its lower and largest portion, an O-ring disposed within the groove engagable with the bore of the water outlet, and means for preventing the O-ring from blowing out of the O-ring groove during insertion of the O-ring into said bore.
 4. Apparatus in accordance with claim 3 wherein the O-ring groove is undercut, at least at the downstream face thereof, to provide a dovetail for preventing outward movement of the O-ring, the O-ring being axially squeezed between the upstream and downstream faces of the O-ring groove, to limit rate of entry of leakage water around the upstream face of the O-ring and to the interior thereof to thus obviate O-ring expansion at least until the O-ring is seated within the bore of the water outlet.
 5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 including a pole removably engagable with said means secured to the stem, and means for preventing relative rotation therebetween.
 6. In a sprinkler head of the type having a circular bore forming a water outlet for discharging water onto a water spreader carried by a water spreader support, the water spreader being disposed in spaced relation to the water outlet, the spreader support also providing an abutment disposed in predetermined spaced relation from the water outlet and in axial alignment with the axis of the bore, the space surrounding the spreader support having a cross-section at an end thereof providing access to said space, the improvements for use therewith, comprising: a. a water outlet closure having opposite ends, b. one end of the closure having a tapered pilot so constructed to permit a tip thereof to enter said outlet at an acute angle to said axis and provide a pivot about which the closure may be swung, c. the other end of the closure being so constructed to seat on said abutment after the pilot has entered said opening a sufficient distance to permit said other end of the closure to swing about said pivot to a position wherein said other end is on said axis and may seat on said abutment, d. means disposed adjacent an inner portion of the pilot engagable with said outlet for sealing flow of water therethrough when said closure is swung to the last named position, e. a stem affixed to said closure having a portion laterally offset from the closure and extending across said horizontal section so constructed to clear the periphery of the spreader when the closure is disposed in said last named position, and f. means, such as a handle, secured to the stem for pushing the pilot into the outlet bore and for swinging the closure to dispose said other end thereof on the abutment.
 7. Apparatus in accordance with claim 6 wherein said stem is also so constructed to clear the lower end of an obstruction surrounding said space when the closure and stem are inserted across said cross-section at an angle thereto and into said space.
 8. Apparatus in accordance with claim 7 in combination with a sprinkler head of the flush type having said obstruction. 